Donegal’s Gaelic football messiah has admitted he’s attempting to write his very own loaves and fishes tale.

Jim McGuinness, who once sported Christ-like locks and a goatee beard, admits God didn’t gift his county with the same resources as others.

So while the likes of Dublin could afford to push hard for Allianz League ­success, the All-Ireland ­winning boss had to use the campaign to build for the ­summer.

That often meant resting key players and losing games as they trawled for new talent - the end result being ­relegation. But McGuinness is optimistic there will be a glorious ­resurrection in the form of a successful summer as they defend the Sam Maguire Cup with meagre resources.

The early signs are good, with a big win over Tyrone to set up today’s Ulster semi-­final.

McGuinness said: “It’s all relative. If you’ve a squad of 30 players with little between them, you’d be putting out a very strong team every day and be going out to win every single day.

“For us, we had to look at what the players went through last year, the amount of ­training they did, the amount they did the year before.

“They went to the All-Ireland final and won it. Do you let them come down from that, or do you keep cracking the whip?

“I think if you keep cracking the whip then the wheels come off in May. The ­alternative is that you’re only getting going in May and that’s the approach we took, but it’s very, very specific to ourselves and our group.” That ambitious gamble appears to be paying off.

Players showed no signs of being affected by relegation as they dominated in-form ­Tyrone in the quarter-finals with a typically clinical ­display.

On paper, that looks like being their toughest test in Ulster, though McGuinness insists Down will ask all sorts of questions of his team.

The Mourne County were the last team to beat back-to- back champions Donegal in Ulster, in 2010.

McGuinness continued: “Every one of their forwards asks a different question of you. One’s asking a question on strength and fetching, the other one on ­agility. Another one’s asking a question in terms of seeing a pass early and unlocking a ­defence.

“So it’s a very nice mix they have and I don’t know was it five or six points they scored the last day from play around the middle of the park?

“They’ve got a lot of ­quality going forward and we’re going to have to be on our guard.”

Down’s quarter-final win over Derry was an absorbing contest. They came from ­behind in Derry’s backyard to outscore the Division 2 ­champions in an open and expansive game – just the sort McGuinness doesn’t want.

All of his side’s success has been built on a strict defence first policy.

He joked: “Would I like to see another shoot-out? Hopefully not!

“The bottom line is, it doesn’t really matter how you win as long as you get over the line in a particular game – and then you move on to the next phase of the competition.”